Sunday is market day for the Barleys. Today is less rainy than yesterday but still pretty grey and there's even a chill in the air. We tend to go to South Melbourne Market which is two stops away on the tram. Perhaps when we get a car we'll drive there but at the moment the trolley and the tram suffices. We usually get some brunch or lunch depending on what time it is when we do our shop.

Today we went to Simply Spanish. The two huge pans of paella being cooked out on the street under a canopy is usually pretty enticing and on this cold grey day, a plate of bright yellow rice can bring much comfort! It's $12.50 a serving and a king prawn is an extra $2. I went for the prawn and Steve didn't. The paella was tasty; slightly under seasoned for my liking but fine for Steve. The rice was just the right stickiness and rather than being a a clump of mushy mess as can be the case, it was like each grain was covered in a sticky goo which is a much more pleasant texture. The mussels could probably be plumper but the squid, chicken and chorizo worked well. The king prawn was good too. Next time I might have two!

We also ordered the pan Catalan to share which I thought would be mushed up tomato paste on bread but this version was so much better. Fresh tomatoes that taste tangy and sweet with fresh basil, olive oil, splash of balsamic and olive oil on crunchy bread. It was a good acidic flavour contrast to the comforting paella. Very quick lunch; we were probably done in 30 mins but deeply satisfying.

Steve stayed out all night on Friday and then passed out on the sofa when he crawled home at midnight leaving me home alone with no prior warning so I couldn't even make plans to entertain myself. I'd even held off making dinner arrangements with new friends as I didn't want to leave him by himself. Sadly he didn't show me the same consideration and a lunchtime jolly with work colleagues became an all day and night session!

Can you sense the serious making up he had to do? I laid the guilt trip on big time! Ha ha! Well the way to my heart is through good food so on this rainy Saturday he offers to take me to Nobu for lunch. I'm not really going to let this offer go and boy am I going to milk it for it's entire worth! We haven't done much fine dining yet in Melbourne as there's just been too much other stuff to do and my fine dining frocks and heels are all in the container that is due to arrive in a week and a half but heck with an offer of Nobu for lunch, I'd go in a bin bag!

We start off with a gin and tonic for Steve to chase those beer cobwebs away and a Pink Dragonfly for me which is Belvedere pink grapefruit vodka, Pama pomegranate liqueur and Yuzu liqueur shaken and served tall. Very pink and very refreshing. I love days when the first thing to hit my stomach is alcohol. I can just feel my liver whirring into action.

Our first plate arrives which is one of their specialist dishes; yellowtail sashimi with jalapeno. The soy is salty and has a slight citrus tang, the yellowtail so fresh, soft and sweet, then the flavour of the coriander comes through pairing with the salty soy aftertaste and then this warm, fuzzy tingle takes over the tongue thanks to the jalapeno. This dish is incredibly simple yet so wonderful.The freshness of the fish is tantamount to its success so I guess it can't really be sold for cheaper or executed as well by a lesser restaurant. I could eat this all night with a bowl of rice. By this time we're onto the wine by the way. Steve likes to buy Victoria wine given we're living in the State so we have a nice sauvignon blanc which isn't too fruity, more minerally and grassy which is good as it goes better with the fish.

Next we had crispy rice with spicy tuna. Not sure what to expect really. I though it might be like a spicy tuna sushi roll but with crispy rice instead of the usual sushi rice. I was very wrong! They were little cubes of rice that were crispy on the outside and hot and chewy on the inside on little skewers. Dip the rice cube into soy sauce, add a dollop of tuna tartare and eat. The rice was fun and a good texture. The tuna tartare was ok but not remarkable and certainly not all that spicy.

One of the stars of the show; the highly acclaimed miso black cod. A big fillet of it just for Steve and I. That pink thing is ginger root which is far tastier than the pink ginger you get in a Boots or M&S sushi pack! Ok so how to describe...well the texture is really silky and the fish just flakes into individual scalloped leaves. The miso is sticky, slightly sweet and finishes slightly salty. I find that white fish can sometimes end up just tasting all the same but you can really tell this is cod. Just perfect!

Forgot to take a picture of the beef tenderloin with wasabi salsa we had. The beef was done rare as we like it and very tender and well, beefy in flavour. The wasabi salsa had a serious kick and cleared the sinuses. The dish on the right is scallops with spicy garlic sauce. Scallops cooked so they're tender with the right amount of chew. Possibly could have done with a little bit more colour on them. The asparagus and shiitake mushrooms in the dish were really tasty too.

The accompanying miso soup and rice were a little late in coming out. Has to be said that although the food was sublime the service was a bit hit and miss. The hostess at the door was very attentive and the waitress that took our order was good in the beginning but then not sure whether it was shift change or it got a bit busier but our wine glasses weren't filled on one occasion, water glasses weren't topped up and then the rice and soup were delayed so just a little off really.

Whilst I'm on the list of slightly negative issues, there were a few kids in the restaurant. I have no problems with kids in restaurants. I love seeing little kids eat unusual things and enjoy them. I used to be that kid! What does annoy me is when they run wild in a restaurant that isn't set up for kids running around. Take me to Wacky Warehouse and I have no problems with errant children crawling between seats and standing on tables but in a place like this; no thank you!

So we have one cute kid who is eating what looks like carrot cut like spaghetti with Mickey Mouse training chopsticks and then he moves onto rice and he is enjoying it with gusto. There's carrot and rice on the table, on the floor, all over his face and then the maitre'd comes and puts a napkin on his lap. As if that will help! So sweet as he's just enjoying it so much. Personally raw carrot and rice isn't my menu of choice but he has a great attitude.

Then we have the two kids that sit everywhere there is a spare table and not at their own. Mum and dad just let them run wild and scrabble round on the floor. At one point they chase each other round the central bank of tables in big circles. I wanted to stick my leg out to trip them over! Mum beckons with her hand for one of them to come over. Yeah like that's going to work. So she goes over to him and picks him up to bring him back to the table only for him to run off again. If he were my child, one look and he'd come sidling over and would stay put until it's time to leave! As my sister says, we wouldn't have dared to behave badly when we kids. We were ruled with an iron fist and just one look from mum and dad and we'd come to heel!

Anyway I'm going off tangent. Back to the delectable food.

Dessert time! I go for the chocolate bento box which is a chocolate fondant with gold leaf and a ball of green tea ice cream. The chocolate fondant is more than acceptable but no more special than a good chocolate fondant. I can make pretty good chocolate fondant. The green tea ice cream is definitely a superior green tea ice cream that tastes like it should. Weaker versions are like vanilla icecream coloured green whereas this one really tastes of tea. Steve opts for a warm chocolate satandagi filled with chocolate and pistachio ganache and served with caramelised pistachios, berry coulis and almond ice cream. We learn that satandagi is Japanese doughnut and given I see a clean plate in about 5 seconds, I can only assume it went down well. Managed to try a bit of it and the doughy satandagi is really good on a rainy day. Almond ice cream didn't really taste of almond but was a pleasant palatte cleansing accompaniment.

In conclusion, it was a lovely long lunch and I am very excited about returning for Christmas Day. Two slight blemishes on the afternoon were the unruly children and the erratic service but I'm prepared to take those as the food was just yumtastic.

I've mentioned Max Brenner previously but never really reviewed it. Charlotte and I went for dessert yesterday and given we went there after our second date for hot chocolate, it's become a little bit of a tradition and one we're more than happy to continue with.

There are Max Brenner chocolate cafés all over the World. I first saw one in Las Vegas this Summer and looking at their website they seem to be mainly in Israel, Australia, Phillipines and Singapore and 3 outlets in America. Surprisingly it was founded in Israel which I would never have put as a chocolate making centre.

Anyway I went for the chocolate dip with strawberries and Charlotte had the banana bread with chocolate dip. I loved my dessert. Not too sweet and the strawberries are considered 5 a day so almost healthy. Charlotte's banana bread, I get the impression was ok but she'll be sticking to her Italian Thick Chocolate next time. The cappuccino was good with drizzled melted chocolate and a square of melting chocolate rather than the cocoa powder. The mug had a funny lip to it which the call the roo cup. Not quite sure what that was meant to be for.

We knew it would be better for us if we didn't have dinner out given the last three meals we hadn't cooked ourselves. But it's just so much easier to go out and someone else can provide really good tasty food and do the washing up!

With the supermarket open till late on a Sunday the plan was to get some dinner quickly and then do a supermarket shop so there would be no eating out for the coming week; at least until the weekend. Although I remember now I have dinner plans on Thursday with Charlotte and Steve is out then to. Oh well, we have good intentions!

We've been to Pacific BBQ on Victoria Street and there is a second branch in the city really close to the supermarket so it was the obvious choice. We ordered the 4 roast platter; soya chicken, roast duck, char siu and crispy pork and some Chinese broccoli which we had with fried rice. It came very quickly and we enjoyed it very much. The char siu was sweet and sticky. The crispy pork had the melt in mouth quality but could do with a little bit more crispiness. The duck was good; a few pieces were lacking in meat and were just bone. The chicken was juicy and succulent. Chinese broccoli was done in garlic and was crunchy and just right. If you look around all the patrons in the place, you'll see 90% enjoying Chinese roast meat so it's good to follow suit. There are lots of other options as is common in Hong Kong style cafés including the spam sandwich and the Hong Kong mixed tea and coffee but I think we'll stick to the roasts as they're so good.

Any potential visitors coming out to see us and reading this blog better make a note of where you want to eat so we can take you!

Today we decided would be our last furniture buying attempt; the last time we see Ikea for a while. What a relief! So as is ritual when we go to Ikea, we get off the tram a few stops before at Victoria Street where there is a strip of mainly Vietnamese restaurants.

We've been intending to try Pho Dzung so today was a good day for that. It's very typical Vietnamese local restaurant decor wise with a menu on the wall, mirrored tiles and a thermos of tea on the table along with condiments and cutlery.

We decided to save the coagulated ox blood for another time and Steve didn't fancy a bowlful of cartilege. We opted for the rare beef and sliced chicken pho and some spring rolls. Looking round, everyone has a large bowl of pho in front of them so it's a popular choice and we weren't going to go off piste! Although there was a young boy sat next to Steve who was attacking his pork chop and rice with gusto using a spoon.

It was a good choice. A squeeze of lime juice, some beansprouts to add crunch, basil for flavour and we're all set to slurp it down.The pho was so tasty. The broth meaty and light, the noodles slippy and silky.

Spring rolls were little cigarettes of goodness. Wrap in a crunchy and cool lettuce leaf and dip into the lovely dipping sauce and it's a delight in every bite!

The sun came out on Saturday so we decided to take a tram ride to St. Kilda which we had only seen briefly at night and have some Aussie beach time. Steve thought the fresh sea air would blow away the cobwebs hanging around from the antics of the night before which involved an open bar.

During a walk we came across the St. Kilda Pier and we decided to walk to the end which is where the penguin viewing point is but they only come out at dusk. At the end of the pier is a little restaurant named "Little Blue" so called because of the colony of 1000 little blue penguins nearby. It was a gorgeous day and a perfect setting for brunch.

Steve had the baked eggs with chorizo, Spanish onion, feta and Napoli sauce with some toast and I enjoyed the eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and we shared some chips with aioli. Oh and two glasses of Victoria Riesling completed the meal. We really enjoyed the simple but tasty food and the setting and the sunshine on our skin. Needless to say, as is usually the case when the sun comes out, Steve got burnt and now has a very red forehead!

Well after beach time and the sun and the wine a long afternoon nap ensued which meant when we woke up in the evening it was dinner time and the activity of the day just meant neither of us could bring ourselves to cook. That is pretty much the story of this whole weekend by the way.

We decided to head to the Crown Entertainment Complex where the Casino is and see where we could get in. Remember this is Saturday night and there are some pretty fancy places in the area and everyone is quite dressed up. Lots of frocks and heels and here I am in my denim shorts and flip flops with bedhead and Steve is not faring much better. We look at the Food Court and decide it's too bright and busy for us as we're still just waking up and a bit fuzzy headed.

Steve remembers there's a casual steak place and a pub upstairs so we try there. The steak place has a 45 minute wait but the hostess says we can sit at the bar and order the same food. The bar is dark and there are huge TV screens showing sport so perfect for Steve and perfect for me as I don't need to talk whilst I slowly come round.

I think there was cricket, football and tennis one when we were there. So to keep things simple, we order two steaks and some onion rings. I had garlic butter with mine and Steve had mushroom sauce. In spite of how busy it was the food came quick. It was tasty and filled a hole. Steaks were tender, onion rings crispy so everyone happy. A glass of wine and a beer later it was time to head home.

Our walk home consisted of a convoluted tour through the complex. It was the busiest I have ever seen it which is good because we did wonder how it managed to make money. The shops always seem so empty but not so tonight. We stopped for an icecream at Baci - honeycomb crunch and delicious it was too. Very romantic to take a seat by the river and enjoy our dessert.

I must stress that we shared the ice cream and you can see proof of that in the picture below!

Sunday morning yum cha is becoming a tradition along with Friday evening post work drinks. Well a tradition spanning the two and a half weeks we have been here. Speaking of which; although we are living like squatters, eating off plastic plates, have nowhere to sit except the floor or an airbed, using towels on long term loan from the serviced apartment, have one mug each, you get the idea...we feel like we have been here for a while and places are beginning to provide that sense of familiarity particularly Woolworths and Big W. Woolworths is actually a supermarket like Asda and Big W is essentially like Woolworths in UK was.

Back to yum cha. We had read about the Shark Fin group of restaurants; they have 2 in Chinatown, one in a suburb somewhere and one food court concession at the Casino. Extremely popular for yum cha, we had been forewarned about booking. I called up on Saturday evening to be told the main restaurant Shark Fin House was fully booked but to try Shark Fin Inn. I tried there and they could only offer us a table at 11am for one hour; popular places so we took what was available.

We walked past Shark Fin House (the one we couldn't get in) just before 11am and the queue was down the street! It was a bit better at Shark Fin Inn but still very busy. So we settled in at our table and it was in a great position for flagging down the trolley dollies. We had all sorts of dumplings, some glutinous fried rice, char sui puffs, curry puffs, cheung fun...just so much and it was all very good. So much better than the previous week's yum cha experience which was fun but more because it was novel than because it tasted good. Service was better here too. Yet again there were tables of non Asians gorging on chicken feet and tripe! We finished with an egg custard tart each and they were warm with flaky pastry - perfect! You can see Steve is happy in with his tart in the photo! I think we'll try Shark Fin House to satisfy curiosity but more than happy to pre book this place to keep up with Sunday traditions!

For Sunday lunch we decided to go with a roast but went Chinese roast. Pacific BBQ and Seafood House is meant to have the best roast duck in the whole of Victoria and we'd walked by two of the branches a few times and gazed longingly at the ducks and chickens and char sui and roast belly pork all hanging up in the window so this time we got to taste!

We ordered duck and soya chicken on rice, sweet and sour pork with fried rice and roast quail with chilli and garlic. The quail was a tasty bit of bird which we enjoyed. The crispy garlic, onion and chilli was so flavoursome and great mixed with rice. The duck was definitely very good. We've not tried enough round Victoria to say it's the best but I'll come back for roast duck and the same goes for the chicken. And it all came in at just over £20 so not bad at all.

The table next to us was two (I think they were Greek) men and one of them was obviously a regular given the waiter asked him where his other mate was. He ordered a roast duck, plate of Chinese broccoli in garlic and 2 boiled rices and it was a feast fit for a king. A duck may be excessive for two people but I hope to follow suit next time!

I mentioned Breadtop a few posts back about it being as common as Greggs (probably a slight exaggeration but definitely lots of branches) and it being an Asian bakery. Well we've had a few breakfasts and desserts from Breadtop and I believe Steve is a real fan now! The items you see in the pics above are half a chestnut and hazelnut cake a milk bun and an almond and custard bun. The cake was so good we've had it twice now. It's light with a soft top and crispy base. The almond and custard bun was nice too not so big a fun of the milk bun; too dry and the filling was sweet coconut which was too sweet for me.

We called in one evening this weekend to take some goodies home and look at the cute puppy cake! I want one!